sounds can only be searched in names that have been assigned pronunciations

names without pronunciations are excluded from results

* is a wildcard that will match zero or more letters in the pronunciation

example:*lee will match names which end with the sound lee

(s) will match exactly one syllable in the pronunciation

example:(s)(s)rah will match names which have two syllables and then the sound rah

(c) will match a consonant

(k) will match a consonant or consonant cluster

(v) will match a vowel

(p) will match a plosive or stop consonant

(p) will match a fricative consonant

(n) will match a nasal consonant

case sensitive: check this if you wish distinguish between unstressed lowercase sounds and stressed uppercase sounds

Related name

Relationship

expand search to ancestral names

the "relationship" is how the name relates to its parent name

example: searching for diminutive will return Betsy because it is a diminutive of its parent Elizabeth

selecting (all core forms) will exclude peripheral forms such as diminutives, short forms, and combinations

expand search to ancestral names: relationships between names further up the family tree will be included

Popularity

Namesake

Name day

Impression

name impressions are based on feedback left by the behindthename.com community

User list

enter a behindthename.com username to search that user's public personal name lists

to limit your search to a specific list, put the name of the list in brackets after the username

Category

separate multiple categories with a comma

* is a wildcard that will match zero or more letters in the category

Options

ADHARAfAstronomyDerived from Arabic عذارى ('adhara) meaning "maidens". This is the name of the second brightest star (after Sirius) in the constellation Canis Major.

ALCYONEfGreek Mythology (Latinized)Latinized form of Greek Αλκυονη (Alkyone), derived from the word αλκυων (alkyon) meaning "kingfisher". In Greek myth this name belonged to a daughter of Aeolus and the wife of Ceyx. After her husband was killed in a shipwreck she threw herself into the water, but the gods saved her and turned them both into kingfishers. This is also the name of the brightest of the Pleiades, the seven stars in the constellation Taurus.

ALICEfEnglish, French, Portuguese, ItalianFrom the Old French name Aalis, a short form of Adelais, itself a short form of the Germanic name Adalheidis (see ADELAIDE). This name became popular in France and England in the 12th century. It was borne by the heroine of Lewis Carroll's 'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland' (1865) and 'Through the Looking Glass' (1871).

ANDROMEDAfGreek MythologyMeans "to be mindful of a man" from the Greek element ανηρ (aner) "man" (genitive ανδρος) combined with μεδομαι (medomai) "to be mindful of". In Greek mythology Andromeda was an Ethiopian princess rescued from sacrifice by the hero Perseus. A constellation in the northern sky is named for her. This is also the name of a nearby galaxy, given because it resides (from our point of view) within the constellation.

ASTRAEAfGreek Mythology (Latinized)Latinized form of the Greek Αστραια (Astraia), derived from Greek αστηρ (aster) meaning "star". Astraea was a Greek goddess of justice and innocence. After wickedness took root in the world she left the earth and became the constellation Virgo.

BETELGEUSEmAstronomyThe name of the star that marks the right shoulder of the constellation Orion. It is derived from Arabic يد الجوزا (yad al-Jawza) meaning "the hand of Jawza". جوزا (Jawza) meaning "central one" was the old Arabic name for the constellation Orion (also for Gemini).

CARINA (1)fEnglish, Portuguese, Spanish, German, Late RomanLate Latin name derived from cara meaning "dear, beloved". This was the name of a 4th-century saint and martyr. It is also the name of a constellation in the southern sky, though in this case it means "keel" in Latin, referring to a part of Jason's ship the Argo.

CASSIOPEIAfGreek Mythology (Latinized)Latinized form of Greek Κασσιοπεια (Kassiopeia) or Κασσιεπεια (Kassiepeia), possibly meaning "cassia juice". In Greek myth Cassiopeia was the wife of Cepheus and the mother of Andromeda. She was changed into a constellation and placed in the northern sky after she died.

CEPHEUSmGreek Mythology (Latinized)Latinized form of the Greek Κηφευς (Kepheus), which is of unknown meaning. In Greek legend he was a king of Ethiopia, the husband of Cassiopeia. After he died he was made into a constellation and placed in the sky.

DRACOmAncient Greek (Latinized)From the Greek name Δρακων (Drakon) which meant "dragon, serpent". This was the name of a 7th-century BC Athenian legislator. This is also the name of a constellation in the northern sky.

EDMONDmFrenchFrench form of EDMUND. A notable bearer was the English astronomer Edmond Halley (1656-1742), for whom Halley's comet is named.

ELANORfLiteratureMeans "star sun" in Sindarin. In 'The Lord of the Rings' (1954) by J. R. R. Tolkien this is Sam's eldest daughter, named after a type of flower.

ESTELLAfEnglishLatinate form of ESTELLE. This was the name of the heroine, Estella Havisham, in Charles Dickens' novel 'Great Expectations' (1860).

EVRENm & fTurkishMeans "cosmos, the universe" in Turkish. In Turkic mythology the Evren is a gigantic snake-like dragon.

GEMINImRoman MythologyMeans "twins" in Latin. This is the name of the third sign of the zodiac. The two brightest stars in the constellation, Castor and Pollux, are named for the mythological twin sons of Leda.

NEPTUNEmRoman Mythology (Anglicized)From the Latin Neptunus, which is of unknown meaning, possibly related to the Indo-European root *nebh "wet, damp, clouds". Neptune was the god of the sea in Roman mythology, approximately equivalent to the Greek god Poseidon. This is also the name of the eighth planet in the solar system.

NOVAfEnglishDerived from Latin novus meaning "new". It was first used as a name in the 19th century.

ORIONmGreek MythologyMeaning unknown, but possibly related to Greek ‘οριον (horion) meaning "boundary, limit". Alternatively it may be derived from Akkadian Uru-anna meaning "light of the heavens". This is the name of a constellation, which gets its name from a legendary Greek hunter who was killed by a scorpion sent by the earth goddess Gaia.

SEDNAfMythologyMeaning unknown. This is the name of the Inuit goddess of the sea, sea animals and the underworld. According to some legends Sedna was originally a beautiful woman thrown into the ocean by her father.

STARfEnglishFrom the English word for the celestial body, ultimately from Old English steorra.

STELLA (1)fEnglish, Italian, Dutch, GermanMeans "star" in Latin. This name was created by the 16th-century poet Sir Philip Sidney for the subject of his collection of sonnets 'Astrophel and Stella'. It was a nickname of a lover of Jonathan Swift, real name Esther Johnson (1681-1728), though it was not commonly used as a given name until the 19th century. It appears in Tennessee Williams' play 'A Streetcar Named Desire' (1947), belonging to the sister of Blanche DuBois and the wife of Stanley Kowalski.

URSAfLate RomanFeminine form of URSUS. This is the name of two constellations in the northern sky: Ursa Major and Ursa Minor.

VEGAfAstronomyThe name of a star in the constellation Lyra. Its name is from Arabic الواقع (al-Waqi') meaning "the swooping (eagle)".

VENUSfRoman MythologyMeans "love, sexual desire" in Latin. This was the name of the Roman goddess of love and sex. Her character was assimilated with that of the Greek goddess Aphrodite. As the mother of Aeneas she was considered an ancestor of the Roman people. The second planet from the sun is named after her.